


Carnations

by VyeLoyomBrightwarrior



Category: Stargate Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Flowers, carnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-29
Updated: 2015-07-29
Packaged: 2018-04-11 22:38:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4455152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VyeLoyomBrightwarrior/pseuds/VyeLoyomBrightwarrior
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is an au. Someone keeps stealing Everett's carnations and he's determined to catch the thief.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Carnations

Everett is getting annoyed. It’s way past time for this to stop. Every single Saturday morning he wakes up to find that one more of his carnations is gone. It’s just not okay for someone to steal from him like that. His lawn is starting to look like a wreck and he’s done with it. It’s Friday night and he is going to wait up and watch. The thief isn’t going to get away with it this time.

The man comes around three in the morning, stooping low to grab a single carnation. Young has him now. He comes out of his house. The man turns instantly at the sound, wincing when he sees the owner has caught him. He doesn’t try to run off, luckily. He just stands there as Young stalks forward. “I want you to know that I waited up all night to catch you at it.” The man has the grace to look guilty. 

“I’ll stop,” he utters, surprising Young with his Scottish accent. He sounds so resigned though, so dejected. Young starts to feel a bit bad for him. Sure the guy was stealing flowers, but Young bets he was doing it for his date or something. He can see it now. The guy had forgotten to get the girl something for their first date so he’d grabbed a flower. She’d loved it so much that she asked him to keep bringing them and he had. Young kind of likes that idea.

“Alright, show me the girl,” he insists. The man looks at him as though he’s lost his mind.

“What?” he questions.

“Show me the girl and if she seems worth it I’ll let you keep stealing flowers.” The Scotsman just stares at him for a long moment. Young didn’t take him for an idiot but now he’s starting to wonder. “Are you going to show me or not?”

“Right,” the man mumbles and turns briskly, walking down the sidewalk. Young puts on a burst of speed so he can walk next to his flower thief. He glances sideways at the man and sees his face is set in a determined line, almost like he’s about to go to war or something.

“I’m Everett Young by the way,” he introduces when he remembers they haven’t done that yet. The man beside him doesn’t even spare him a glace.

“Nicholas Rush,” he states as he stares ahead. Young sees just how nervous the man is when he glances at his hand. Nicholas is clutching the flower as tight as humanly possible. He’s nervous about this. Well, he supposes it isn’t every day that they guy you steal carnations from insists on seeing your girlfriend.

“Tell me about this girl,” he says, wanting to know more. The man closes his eyes ever so briefly before opening them and refocusing on the sidewalk.

“She loves your flowers,” he says softly, a hint of a smile finally forming on his face. “According to her you have the best carnations she’s ever seen.” Young can’t help but feel a bit proud of that. He really does work on those flowers and it’s nice to see someone cares, even if that did elicit flower theft. “She’d be so mad if she knew I was stealing them,” he adds then. The half-smile is still there though, almost like her getting angry at him for stealing is endearing rather than something to be mad about. “She would have liked the way you waited up to catch me,” he reveals, finally glancing sideways at Young.

“I can’t wait to meet her,” he responds with a smile. That’s when the smile fades off of Nicholas’s face. He looks ahead again, closing off. 

“We’re almost there.” Young looks ahead and suddenly it hits him hard. He feels terrible now but he can hardly just back off so he follows Nicholas through the gate and down the path. He hangs back as the man he’s just meet drops to his knees, removing an old dead carnation and replacing it with the new one. The grave stone is for a Gloria Rush. This man’s wife.

“I got you another flower,” he says then, seeming not to care that Young is still standing back awkwardly, watching the whole thing. “One of the ones you always admired when we walked down the street. I know you’d probably hate that I’m ruining the yard but… I thought you’d like to see them.” Nicolas’s voice quivers ever so slightly and tears start to form in Young’s eyes. “Work is going fine. Everyone says I’m doing fine. They say I came back well after your death.” Young closes his eyes, feeling his heart plummet in despair. “I’m not doing fine Gloria. I miss you, so much. I don’t how to live without you.” The man is crying now and Young can’t hold his own tears back anymore. He doesn’t know what to say or do but he has an idea. 

He kneels down next to Nicholas. “Hi Gloria,” he greets, ignoring the man next to him when his head shoots up in shock. “I’m Everett, the flower guy. I heard you liked my flowers. That really means a lot.” The other man is staring at him and Everett feels slightly dumb talking to a headstone but he keeps going, hoping that it’s working. “I told Nicholas he could keep stealing them if the girl he was stealing them for was worth it. I think I’ll let him keep stealing.” The man beside him starts shaking then with silent sobs and Young instinctively wraps an arm around him. Nicholas reciprocates suddenly and Everett finds himself holding a sobbing man. Everett whispers reassurances and just holds him.

The sun has come up by the time Nicholas pulls back. Everett’s shirt is now covered in snot and tears but he doesn’t mind. The Scotsman looks away though, seeming embarrassed by the whole thing. After all, it isn’t every day that you bare your sole in front of the man you steal flowers from. “Are you doing anything today?” Nicholas looks up at him and Young can just tell from his eyes that the man was probably just going to go home and do some sad little ritual he has. Yeah, no. He’s not going to let that happen. “You should come over.”

“You want the man whose been stealing your flowers to come over?” Nicholas questions incredulously. Young shrugs.

“I’ve been a bit lonely since the divorce,” he admits, seeing Nicholas wince at that. “I have plenty of beer and some two player board games.” Nicholas finally smiles faintly at that.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” he says. They both stand slowly then and start walking away, leaving the single carnation lying at the foot of the grave.


End file.
